Production Diary: I wrote a script!

It’s important to have a good script when making a film as it’s near impossible to make a good film out a bad script. From a business point of view, the script is usually what sells a film to get it into production, especially for a short film. This is why it is crucial to make the script as best as it can be - with developed characters and a structured story that utilises the medium effectively. Film is also a visual medium so it is also necessary to convey as much as possible through visuals.

The script I have written that I plan to shoot and produce is a drama which tells the story of a grumpy man who is happy in is misery until a new perspective changes things. It’s set in a coffee shop over the course of three days and features only two speaking roles - which will make the shooting quick and efficient as opposed to having to organise cast and crew to get to a variety of different locations. Furthermore, for this story more locations are not necessary so it will allow me to tell a concise and effective story.

The first idea I had for the script was the opening line of the protagonist’s interior monologue. This came about on a conversation on a camp, discussing the merits of black or white coffee. The phrase “I like the misery” (undoubtedly inspired somewhat by Father Ted) prompted the discussion of what sort of person someone has to be to drink their coffee without any milk or sugar. The ideas of the character were stuck with me the entire hike up the mountain but it was only when I was being dangled precariously down a hole in a glacier above an unknown height, the character of Graham and the basic story of Brew came into existence.

I always enjoy stories about contrasting two characters and exploring the influence someone who is no more than a stranger can have on someone. The creation of Miranda, who was from the offset cheerful, thoughtful and optimistic, was an obvious result of the desire to have a character who was the complete opposite of Graham. The story was a simple one - a grumpy, bitter man would begin to see the world differently.

The first draft was written on paper at the airport a few days after the conception of the idea. For the second draft, written a week later on Celtx there weren’t many changes. Graham had originally been called Jeff but that name never really stuck the same way Graham did. The main changes made were within the layout and wording. The first, rough draft in my notebook was only ever written to be read by me so I had to make sure it appeared professional and easier to be read by the cast and crew.

The ending was changed slightly - the ending that I had written on paper (and that was originally typed up) simply had Graham (then Jeff) sitting at his table with his own notepad and pen as he put some sugar into his coffee. While I did like the visual representation of his ‘sweetening’ with the sugar sachet, I felt it was a little too happy and I wanted to accentuate the bitter sweetness of a lonely man realising he was actually lonely. This made the ending more emotionally resonant and in my opinion much stronger than what was originally written.

The next challenge is to find a location to shoot and cast the characters while working on a shot list and a storyboard.